A Thousand Years (Christina Perri song)

"A Thousand Years" (1,000 Years) is a song recorded by American singer and songwriter Christina Perri, and written by Perri and its producer David Hodges, for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1. The song was released as a digital download on October 18, 2011, worldwide, and serves as the second single by Atlantic Records for the movie. Perri re-recorded the song with vocals from Steve Kazee for the sequel The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 (2012). It was also produced by Hodges.

Composition
"A Thousand Years" is in the key of B-flat major, with a vocal range of F3 to C5.

The song was written about the love affair between Edward and Bella in the novel and subsequent film series Twilight.

Music video
An official lyric video of the song was premiered on October 17, 2011, via Perri's official Facebook and Twitter pages as well as her official website. On October 26, 2011, she released an official video for the song on her YouTube channel. The video begins with Perri holding a candle. It features a few clips from The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 interspersed between scenes with Perri singing in a room with a floor full of candles. Perri ends the video singing into a sunset.

As of May 2024, the video has accumulated almost 2.5 billion views.

Cover versions
In March 2018, mothers of children with Down syndrome in the United Kingdom produced a video cover of the song for World Down Syndrome Day that went viral. Christina Perri declared her support for the idea and waived any copyright claim to the music in support of the campaign. As of June 2024, the video has over 11 million views.

Chart performance
"A Thousand Years" became a sleeper hit globally, accumulating its sales over several years.

On the week of October 23, 2011, the song debuted at number 63 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, and number 70 on Canadian Hot 100. It eventually peaked at number 31 on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Perri her second top 40 hit. By July 2013, the song has sold over three million digital downloads in the US. As of June 2014, the song has sold 3,657,000 copies in the US. On March 3, 2022, the single was certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling ten million units in the United States.

In the United Kingdom, the song reached number 32 on its original release in 2011. The following year, after the release of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2, it peaked at number 13. In 2013, it reached a new peak of 11. It has since been certified four-times platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), denoting sales equivalent to 2.4 million units